


Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (but better)

by Stolen_Ink



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Canon-Typical Violence, Fix-It, Force-Sensitive Finn (Star Wars), Friends to Lovers, Korriban (Star Wars), M/M, Moraband
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:47:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22358992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stolen_Ink/pseuds/Stolen_Ink
Summary: The Rise of Skywalker was...um...bad. I'm gonna try and make it unbad, teetering on good. Let's do it?
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Finn, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 10
Kudos: 17





	1. Wreckage

The wind on Bogano was sweet, Finn knew that. In the foremost part of his brain, he could smell grass and sunshine, the soft yellow flowers that grew in the cracks of the stones. Rain had swept these hills a few hours ago, and now all was blanketed in the damp, rich smell of water-soaked soil, beneath a sky of creamy blue. But there was some other part in him, some memory triggered either by the buildings before him or the uneasy weight of the blaster in his hand that laced everything around him with the smell of fire.

  
“I don’t like this,” he muttered, looking down at the burned out buildings, fire-licked wood that had since had time to rot. Fresh mold and flowers now blanketed the remains of Luke Skywalker’s temple, the home he’d made for people like Rey to come and learn. The place that Kylo Ren had destroyed.

  
Chewbacca made a mournful sound, stomping his feet in the brisk air. The Wookiee’s shoulders were relaxed, but his fingers never left his bowcaster.

  
“There’s nothing here but memories,” Poe said, shading his eyes from the mid-morning glare. “This place got abandoned after the First Order wiped out Luke’s students. No reason they’d keep up surveillance here, because this is a useless place to be.”

  
“Rey asked us—”

  
“I know what Rey asked us.” Poe glanced sidelong at Finn, brow furrowed. “I just don’t know why you said yes.”

  
“There might be something here that’ll help with her training. Luke collected all sorts of Jedi relics; some of them might be here.” Finn half-walked, half-skidded down the slope, Poe following behind.

  
“So what? Some old book or crystal or whatever’s going to help her? We should be thinking about how she can help us.”

  
“Not this again,” Finn groaned. Poe had been on this since Crait. “She’s going to be the one facing down Ren. She needs to be ready.”

  
“Seems like she already can beat Ren. I mean, he’d be dead now if she hadn’t let him go on Starkiller."

  
“He was beaten, Poe. The planet was coming apart of the seams!”

  
“Sure, but it wouldn’t have taken that long just to poke that lightsaber of hers through his chest and cook his insides, is all I’m saying.” Poe shrugged, stones skittering out from beneath his boots as he wobbled.

  
Chewbacca made a sound that sounded suspiciously like agreement, and Finn rounded on the two of them.

  
“That isn’t the Jedi Way,” he announced, folding his arms.

  
“Tell that to all the people he’s killed since then.” A larger stone rolled and Poe tipped over, spilling onto Finn’s shoulders. He righted himself with a furious little gesture, then shot Finn a wry glance. “Besides, when’d you become an expert on the Jedi Way?”

  
“Shut up.” Finn shook his head, trying to return to the matter at hand. He fired up the commlink in his pocket. “Rose, any sign of prying eyes?”

  
“I’m not picking up any other ships in this system,” her voice crackled across the feed. “But there are plenty of life signs around the temple. Big ones, too. Be careful out there.”

  
“No worries, Rose.” Poe’s sly wink couldn’t be caught over audio, but then, it wasn’t for her, anyway. “I’ll keep him out of trouble.”

  
The burned out remnants of the Jedi Temple didn’t much resemble anything that Finn had imagined. He had always thought of the few images he’d seen of the old temple, the squat building with its few spires, sat low in a Coruscant skyline. More recently, his mental image had been replaced by the castle on Takodana, moldering gray stone, covered with moss and pennants.

  
This temple looked nothing like either. It was wooden, or at least, once had been. There was little of the pale material that hadn’t been touched by fire or rotted away in the intervening years. The central building had a circular foundation, and there were others that spread out over half a kilometer, small enough to serve as classrooms or dormitories. Most were nothing but ruins now, and the grass was scattered with fresh puddles that must once have been craters from turbolaser fire. This was the only place on Bogano Finn had seen any signs of sentient life, but it was also the only place the war had touched.

  
“Let’s check the big one,” Poe said, marching toward it without warning. “Probably where Luke kept the important stuff, right?"

  
“Careful!” Finn called, his fingers tightening around his blaster. Something dark lived here—a specter of blood and death that had claimed this place for its own. Rey talked about the Force having a dark side, something the Jedi tried to fight, whenever they could. Finn could almost have dismissed the feeling. Almost. But it felt familiar to him, a shadow that he had come face to face with, that made the long scar on his back twinge. The shadow was distant, lacking Kylo Ren’s fury, but it was constantly drawing nearer, and solidifying into points of churning hatred, which reached out, grasping...at Finn, and at…

  
Finn barely heard the whir of a vibroblade behind him. He surged forward, screaming Poe’s name, fighting to beat the dark that threatened to overshadow the pilot. He hit Poe in the small of his back, and together, the two of them toppled to one side as an angry sizzle split the quiet air.

  
Finn rolled off of Poe, glancing down at the stone, where the a blaster bolt’s impact had left a perfect circle in the moss where the rock glowed red-hot. A moment later and the shot would have struck Poe squarely between the shoulder blades. Finn had no idea where it had come from—a sniper holed up somewhere in the hills. Chewbacca did; he roared his anger and fired a green bolt at the hills, toward the _Falcon_ , between them and the ship. 

  
“What the hell?” Poe said, groaning, and Finn lifted his blaster, firing shots at the second figure, the one who clutched a massive axe which buzzed savagely. The shadow, which wore a helmet like a grinning, black skull, lifted the weapon, which absorbed the shot easily. The figure took a step backwards, a voice hissing from the mask like steam. 

  
“Not often you miss, Kuruk. We’ve been made.” Acrid smoke poured from a canister on the shadow’s hip and he disappeared into the cloud. Finn heard his blaster shots impact on stone and one of the puddles, but the shadow had disappeared.

  
“Finn?” Poe had pulled his blaster and scrambled behind the corner of the temple as another shot rang out from the hills. They were cut off from the Falcon. “Who are these guys?”

  
Finn didn’t even need the feeling in his gut to recognize the shadows. He’d been unfortunate enough to run into them stalking the corridors of the _Finalizer_ once. “It’s the Knights of Ren.” 

  
“What are they doing here?” Poe leaned out to take a shot at the sniper and nearly got his nose burned off for his trouble.

  
“I don’t know, what are we doing here?” Finn shouted, and an impact from behind threw him off his feet. Fire and force tossed him like a rag doll, skidding through the mud until a roll into a puddle stopped his momentum. The only sound in his ears was a narrow ringing and the furious pulse of his own heartbeat. He pushed himself to his knees, looking back at the temple, where an explosion had managed to send part of the temple’s walls to further oblivion, splinters littering the grass. Another figure, this one wearing a featureless helmet of black steel and holding a brutal-looking arm cannon, stepped through the smoldering hole, staring out at them. Chewbacca turned to fire at the new attacker, but another shadow stepped from the nearest dome and struck the Wookiee with a club that made a sound like a thunderclap. Chewbacca went flying, then crumpled into a heap on the ground. Poe was nowhere to be seen.

  
“Chewie!” The sound tore from Finn’s throat as he raised his blaster, but before he could even choose a target, a squealing blade sliced through his weapon, startling Finn away as useless chunks of durasteel tumbled from his hands. Another Knight, this one wielding a scythe and a ridged mask. But this one was different.

  
All at once Finn’s mind blanked out. He could think of nothing but white, mute terror, of sliding, grabbing at empty air. He scrambled away, ignoring the skin scraped from his hands as he scrabbled backwards, away from the terror with the scythe, until a boot landed squarely in his back. The axe, an intricately shaped, hollow arch, resting on his shoulder, told him that the first Knight had returned. 

  
“Don’t move, Rebel,” the Knight mused. “I think I speak for all of us when I say we have a few questions for you."

  
Finn tried to push away, still half-addled by the presence of the Knight with the scythe, but as he moved, the skin of his shoulder brushed the blade of the axe, which instantly sunk in deep. He screamed as the Knight re-adjusted, pulling the weapon free.

  
“I told you not to move,” the Knight muttered.

  
“I recognize him,” the club-bearing Knight said, walking a little closer to stare at Finn. He stepped over Chewbacca as he did, onto the Wookiee’s broad back. “That’s the defective stormtrooper, ain’t it?”

  
“FN-2187?” The scythe-wielding Knight said, voice smooth as volcanic glass.

  
“I dunno, I got better things to do than memorize every stormtrooper’s number, don’t I?”

  
“I suspect that to be the exact line of thinking that allowed this man and his Resistance fighters to destroy Starkiller Base and kill Master’s teacher. Come, Ushar, you know to look your opponent in his eyes.”

  
“I look them all in the eyes, Vicrul.” Ushar let the club rest at his side. “But I’ll leave the names to you.”

  
“I won’t tell you anything,” Finn snarled, and the axe-bearer chuckled.

  
“You might as well. Things will go much easier for you, I promise.” Vicrul bent down, the gruesome visage of the mask coming face to face with Finn. “Here, I’ll tell you something; we can make it an exchange. Luke Skywalker left nothing important in this temple. My friends have scoured this place a dozen times, but whatever secrets he kept in this place, he took them with him when he left. Now, it’s your turn to talk. Why don’t we start with where exactly Luke Skywalker hid himself away?”

  
“Kuruk says he’s lost track of the other Rebel,” The Knight clutching the cannon said. “Disappeared after I blasted him.”

  
“Find him, Ap’lek.” Vicrul nodded at the man with the axe, who stepped back. As he did, Finn dared to reach up to his wound, which poured sticky crimson over his fingers. Darkness swirled at the edges of his vision; he wasn’t sure if it was the blood loss or the Knights of Ren, but it left him shaken either way.

  
Vicrul stepped closer, and with him came that buzzing white terror, like the world was turning to static around him. Shadows lurked in the regular ridges of his mask, Finn could make out no features behind it.“You’ve proven formidable, 2187.” His voice was a bit muffled, perhaps, but there was no trace of the electronic distortion that Ren’s mask provided. It left Vicrul’s voice soft, and all the more jarring. “If all stormtroopers were as formidable or half as lucky as you are, this war would already be over.”

  
“You don’t belong here,” Finn said, fighting to keep his voice level.

  
A chuckle caught in Vicrul’s throat. “We don’t? I disagree. We took this place. We burned this temple. We conquered the Jedi here. This place belongs to the Knights of Ren, to do with as we wish. Such was the will of the Force.”

  
“The Force wouldn’t do this. This was you.”

  
Now Vicrul laughed in earnest. “Did your fledgeling Jedi tell you that? Do you not understand, stormtrooper, that my master serves the Force just as truly as she does? The Force does not prefer the light over the dark, or the dark over the light. The Jedi fell because the Force willed it, and then the Empire fell because the Force willed it, and now we stand ready to bring to pass whatever the Force wills next. But the Force is not absent, simply because you do not like what it has chosen.

  
“Now,” the Knight said, and the scythe whirred down, to stand just beside Finn’s throat, close enough that he could feel the heat of its vibrating. The pall of static pulled close, silencing Finn’s thoughts, clearing out anything the wasn’t the Knight of Ren and the translucent edge of his voice. “I am going to give you a choice, 2187. You can die quickly, and tell me all you know about Luke Skywalker, his apprentice, and the Resistance, or you can choose to die screaming, as we pull every piece of information out of you like a tooth. You have until my friend returns with your pilot to decide.”

  
“Vicrul?” Ushar called.

  
“What have I told you about interrupting me?”

  
“Vicrul—!” 

  
An unmistakable roar tore through the curtain of terror that was Vicrul as clouds of steam and dust rose form the ground. Again a shadow darkened Finn’s vision, but this one was wholeheartedly welcome.

  
“Get on!” Rose screamed from the ramp of the _Millennium Falcon_ , which came in at such a recklessly low altitude that only two people Finn had met could possibly be piloting it, and only one of them was alive. Rose fired a barrage at Vicrul, who brought his scythe into a lethal arc as it absorbed one shot after another. 

  
Ushar screamed as Chewbacca bellowed a battle cry, grabbing him by the ankle and pulling with a nauseating crunch. Finn scrambled up, soaked in muddy water and blood, and raced weaponless towards the ramp. The Knight with the arm cannon stepped forward, but he focused his fire on the _Falcon_ , firing an explosive charge that Finn could hear tearing metal. Blaster fire from the sniper and from Ap’lek, who had drawn a pistol, flew around him, but Finn was quick. Rose ushered him into the _Falcon_ as Chewbacca retreated, firing his bowcaster at anything that moved. 

  
For a moment, Finn could feel every inch of Vicrul’s stare—it plunged into him like a knife, the whisper of cowardice, the reminder of everything that the First Order was. There was something new, too. A vision of dust and lightning, of a monolith that leaked malice so black it blocked out the sun.

  
“Finn? Buddy, you okay!” Poe’s voice shattered the image, as the ramp sealed and banished the vision of the Knight. 

  
“Yeah!” He stammered, moving toward the cockpit as Chewbacca surged past him. Instead, Rose caught him by the arm.

  
“Whoa, you’re bleeding a lot,” she said, fumbling along the wall for the medpack they kept there.

  
“What? Finn’s hurt?” Poe’s voice cracked. “I'll get him to sickbay--"

"No," Finn gasped. "You need to get us out of here!"

Poe seemed on the verge of arguing, but instead he turned and ran towards the cockpit, shouting over his shoulder, "Hold on!"

  
The deck heaved under Finn, sending him and Rose careening into the far wall. Finn could hear the bleating of laser fire from somewhere close by, and the coughing roar of another ship’s engines.

  
“We got company!” Poe shouted.

  
“We need a gunner.” Finn turned towards the gunner’s seat.

  
“You need to lie down,” Rose reached forward, jabbing a stim pack into his arm. Finn barely felt the prick. “That’s a bad cut.”

  
“It’s the Knights!” Poe’s voice broke in. “Can we start shooting back sometime?” 

  
“On it!” Finn broke into a run, the stimulants cutting through the last of the fog. There had been a time when the sensitivity of the _Falcon’s_ gunnery seat had left him clumsy and distracted, but now slipping into it felt natural. The ship’s cannon swung around as he flipped on scanners and targeting computers, trying to get a bead on the ship that was pursuing them.

  
It wasn’t hard to find. The Knights’ ship was a squat, dark thing with two square mandibles and a jaw full of bristling points. Dark smoke poured from the ship’s engines hidden away behind the vehicle’s small, diagonally-angled wings. Crimson laser fire poured from the ship, rocking the _Falcon_. Finn fired back, spraying lasers through the ship’s arc, but most of the lasers went wide as it swooped to one side. The few hits scattered harmlessly off its shields.

  
“Poe!” Finn scrambled to pull the comlink headset on. “I don’t think we’re winning this fight!”

  
“Then let’s get out of here!” A shudder went through the Falcon’s rivets, and he paused to shudder. The nature of Poe’s flying was that at times it was hard to tell if it was blaster fire or his maneuvers that were shaking the ship apart. 

  
Finn tried for another salvo, but this one went wide off the Knights’ bow, kicking up steam and smoke on the planet’s surface. More scars for Bogano. A strange flush of guilt surged through him, its source in something he couldn’t name.

  
The _Millennium Falcon_ swooped up and up, until up is no longer a direction that makes sense and the wispy blue skies of Bogano gave way to the rich velvet black of space. The squat ship followed, still spewing a greasy cloud that stained the bright cosmic tapestry. Finn shuddered as the thing drew closer. He could still feel the cold, prowling presence of that Knight. Vicrul. The feeling reminded him of that disastrous first flight away from the _Finalizer_ when the lasers struck, that horrifying lurch between a controlled flight and free fall.

  
“Keep them off us for a little while longer!” Poe shouted. “I’m logging coordinates—gonna get us out of here!”

  
“Do it fast!” The ship rattled again, and this time, he could see red bolts of lasers splashing onto the _Falcon’s_ hull. He heard something rupture somewhere in the ship’s innards, and Rose cursed.

  
“Shields are gone!” Her voice came in crackling on the comms—she was always less prone to shouting than Poe. “We can’t take another hit like that!”

  
“Finn!” Poe couldn’t even manage instructions this time, and Finn could just stare, out at the evil little ship following, still wrapped in the grip of the horror still living on that ship.

  
_You’re too weak, 2187_ , Vicrul’s voice scraped at the base of his skull, not harsh or distorted, but soft. Human. _You will fail, and those you led here will die, trying to save you. Like your technician nearly died on that world of salt, Like your pilot nearly did, rescuing you on Jakku._

  
“No!” Finn could barely hear the sound of his own voice, but a hideous screaming tore him out of the fugue, away from the quiet darkness lurking in the back of his mind. It was the sound of metal giving way, mixed with the whoosh of something catching fire.

  
Poe shouted something Finn couldn’t hear and the stars smeared around them. The _Falcon_ jolted in a way that didn’t feel healthy as they slipped into the blue tunnel of hyperspace, and the presence of the Knights of Ren vanished as they put a dozen solar systems between them in seconds.

  
Finn was left with nothing but his own terror, but there was more than enough of that. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, y'all! It's wild--never watched a piece of media that I was both attached to and disappointed in enough to force me to fix it myself. But I think I can write a better story, so I'm gonna. Uh, only note for this first chapter is I put Luke's new Jedi Temple on Bogano from Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order because the planet looks kind of similar to the few shots we saw, and because I think it would be cool...so there.


	2. Queen, General, Jedi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> General Organa and Rey pay a visit to a familiar planet, hoping to find allies.

She still couldn’t handle humidity. In the time since Jakku, Rey had seen dozens, maybe even hundreds new worlds. There had been massive, green forests, deserts of salt, even planets where water stretched out for miles instead of land. But humidity was still something she couldn’t wrap her head around. The weight of the water in the air made it hard to breathe, made her hair difficult to manage, and left her sweating in a fraction of her old home’s temperatures. Even short ventures on Naboo quickly became uncomfortable, sticky affairs.

Even so, she couldn’t help but admire the beauty of the Emperor’s homeworld. Naboo was lush, and Theed was a sparkling jewel amongst the marshes and bogs of the planet. Rey had never seen a world so prosperous, one that bustled with so much activity and history it was impossible to conceive of it. The weight of so much life thrumming in the Force had given her a headache the moment she stepped onto the planet, and even now it throbbed in the back of her head, reminding her just how many people there were on this world.

“How is—how is this possible?” she murmured for the umpteenth time, and Leia laid a ringed hand on her shoulder. “How could all of this still be here?” The Clone Wars and the Galactic Civil War had so thoroughly ravaged the galaxy, but the domed monument of Theed Palace and the rest of the city seemed untouched.

“Naboo was fortunate,” Leia said, gazing around at the yellow stone and green tile that made up Theed. “Protected by the Old Republic during the Clone Wars, then forcibly safeguarded by the Empire during the Galactic Civil War. Even afterwards, they welcomed the return of the Republic and suffered little from its birthing pains.” Leia sighed, watching a pair of women pass. They were decked out in gorgeous gowns of velvet, rich blue which fell to their toes and swayed with them as they chatted. “It reminds me of Alderaan, if we’d been a little less brave, perhaps.”

“If they’ve never fought before, what makes you think they’ll start now?” Rey frowned. This place seemed big and rich, but was that just the result of cowardice. This was where they wanted to rekindle the Resistance?

“I don’t know,” Leia said, and for a moment, the worry in her eyes bled through. But the general was always good at hiding it, and the doubt disappeared after a moment. “Hope, maybe. Or perhaps one last attempt to call to family.”

They stood in the palace plaza, just before the palace. There were no signs of the First Order to be found, only the red leather suited Naboo guards, standing at regular intervals amongst the pillars.  
Theed Palace was easily the biggest building Rey had ever seen. Its pale, green dome loomed high enough to cast a shadow that fell over them from hundreds of feet away. Its size alarmed her, frankly. What did you even do with all that space? How did someone ever fill a place that size? It must always feel empty.

Statues rose up all across the plaza, but Leia stopped at the largest one, in the center of the square. It was pale gray stone, threaded with olive green, and depicted a woman in an intricate gown. A mantle that broadened her shoulder fell down her back and front, and the rich, brocade gown carried things that looked like great jewels, which had been done in glass on the statue. Her hair fanned about her face like a crown, and her eyes stared out, toward a horizon that Rey couldn’t see.

Leia stood before the statue, head lowered. Rey could feel her in the Force even without seeing the general’s face—there was great grief, but hope, too, fragile and new.

“Who is she?” Rey asked, coming to stand beside Leia.

“Her name was Padmé,” Leia answered, raising her head to look up at the woman. There was something familiar about the statue, Rey decided. The slope of the jaw, maybe, or the purse of the lips. She couldn’t quite identify it. “Padmé Naberrie, though most called her Amidala. She was the youngest queen elected in Naboo history, though most of what made her significant transpired after her term. She was the senator for Naboo throughout the Clone Wars, working tirelessly to bring an end to the violence. I’m also fairly sure that she was my mother.”

“What?” Rey’s gaze fell back onto the general. “Really?”

A thin smile traced Leia’s lips. “I can’t be sure, not really. Anyone who could tell me for sure is dead, and Luke never thought to ask. But from the records I’ve managed to locate, it seems that she and Anakin Skywalker grew very close over the course of the Clone Wars. She died at almost exactly the same time as the rise of the Empire, which would track with my and Luke’s birthdays, and she was good friends with my father when they were fellow senators. It would make sense that he would offer to care for one of her children.”

“You look like her!” Rey glanced between the two, shocked to realize she was right. “That’s why I thought the statue was familiar!”

“Maybe.” Leia chuckled, turning to Rey. “Anyway, this planet has always felt a bit like home to me. Alderaan and Naboo share very similar ideologies. And they keep a small but well-trained military force for planetary defense. But more than that—a battle over Naboo sparked the political conflict that led into the Clone Wars. The Emperor himself was born here. If we can convince Queen Roshara of the need, then we can rekindle the hopes of those loyal to the Republic and dishearten those who still sympathize with the Empire.”

If we can convince anyone, Rey thought. On a whim, she lifted her awareness up and out, spreading along the lacy pathways of the Force. It was so much easier then it had been on Anch-To—time, practice, and Leia’s guidance had made stretching out into the Force almost second nature. Rey didn’t know how she’d ever lived without this awareness; she felt so much more open, so much larger than herself.

Naboo was built on balances, she could sense, more so than any other planet she’d yet visited. The life on the planet had found a delicate symbiosis, with the water, with the solid planet core, with the land, and even with itself. The balance was a lovely one. At first, it was hard to imagine that the world could possibly be the one that had produced Sheev Palpatine.

“Be careful, Rey,” Leia cautioned, without looking back. “Don’t limit your perception without thinking.” There were still moments when the general’s insight startled Rey. The general had never completed her Jedi training—she had been too busy rebuilding democracy in the galaxy, too devoted to helping others to seclude herself for the dedicated study that her brother required. But there were times when Leia demonstrated strong aptitude with the Force, when she outpaced even her brother in ability.

And just like she’d said, Rey realized she’d been shutting out of her perception, like closing one eye. She could see the shape of the Force, but not its depth. And most of the time that was wise. Strange things lurked in the wilds of the Force. Dark things, but the light could be just as dangerous, and then there were the things that were neither, or both. 

With her more complete view, Rey could see more of Naboo. She could sense the dread at the planet’s hollow heart, the great beasts that squabbled in the lightless waters. She could feel the fears of Naboo’s people too, the dread that clawed at their insides. Their planet had been threatened so often in the past decades, and again and again they had been forced to rely on the goodwill of others to save them as their government fought only to preserve the planet’s pacificism. Under the green tile roofs of Theed, resentment simmered and stung wounds still-healing. Even Naboo had monsters.

“Princess?” A voice roused Rey from her reverie, shaking her out of the living Force. It belonged to a lean man in the leather regalia of a Naboo guard who stood at attention before the two of them. Lean and freckly, he had a complexion used to a mild sun. He seemed to look past them, onward to something else, just out of sight. 

Leia inclined her head. “I haven’t been a princess for a long time now, captain.”

“Of course, ma’am. Queen Roshara has accepted your request for an audience.”

“Very kind of her.” Leia waved for Rey to stand beside her. “Please, lead the way.”

“The queen requested only your presence, ma’am.” The captain glanced at Rey, and she was shocked by the flash of contempt in his eyes. “Your aide will remain behind until your business is complete.”

“I’m sorry?” Rey stepped forward, knuckles whitening on her staff, but Leia raised an arm to bar her way.

“Rey is not an aide,” Leia said lightly. “She was the last student my brother took, and a hero of the Resistance. Her Highness would do well to speak with a Jedi.”

“The queen has not requested her,” the captain repeated. “If you wish to see the queen, you will come alone.”

Leia paused, and Rey watched as a sly glint entered the general’s eyes. She smiled the smile that always told Rey that Leia had a plan.

“Well, then.” Leia shrugged. “Let’s go.” She took Rey by the wrist and stared into a brisk stride. Toward the palace.

“I’m sorry, what do you think you’re doing?” The captain barked, incredulous.

“We’re going to see the queen,” Leia called back, completely calm. “I know the way, no need for an escort!”

“This is not permitted!”

“Perhaps. But to be honest, captain, I don’t think that you’re going to stop us.” Leia didn’t even spare a glance back.

“Are you sure about this?” Rey muttered, glancing back at the captain, who had turned an ugly shade of maroon and was still spluttering.

Leia kept her head held high. “The game of politics is an intricate one, and valuable in its own right. There are times, though, when the most efficient path to your goal is to simply cut through decorum and get right to the heart of the matter. Besides, as I grow older, I find the more loathe the respectable figures of this galaxy are to tell me no.”

“Wise of them,” Rey chuckled, and Leia smiled, her stride sure.

Sure enough, no one stopped the two of them from entering Theed Palace. Leia wasn’t lying—she knew the way through the palace’s interior, an interior that was every bit as immaculate as its exterior. Rey looked down and could see her reflection in the beige stone floor. It wasn’t comforting. Against the grandeur of Naboo, the girl who stared up at her seemed very small indeed. Besides, Anch-to had offered nothing but bad memories when it came to her reflection.

“How should I talk to her?” Rey asked, hissing the question at Leia’s ear. “The queen, I mean.”

“Like a person, mostly.” Leia kept her gaze direct, straight ahead. “The Naboo are not ones for formality. At least, they weren’t the last time I visited. Queen Soruna was in power then—if she still was, we’d have little trouble in convincing her to grant us aid. But Roshara has proven to be a more reticent ruler.”

“The First Order won’t care about her reticence,” Rey muttered.

“Naboo has survived a great many things by waiting them out. I only hope that they’ve learned to take action as well.”

The throne room was a circular building of tawny and blue stone, arranged in intricate mosaic on the ground. Slim pillars held a tall roof in place over a semi-circle of low-set seats. The largest of these was set behind a circular table.

All of the seats were occupied by humans in opulent Naboo fashions. It seemed that Theed was fond of its fashions, with women and men alike draped in rich silks and brocade. The most elaborate of them were seated at the center of the ring, the figure who sat behind the table, in the largest throne.  
This woman was perhaps the most beautiful being Rey had ever laid eyes on. Many of the others wore thick, white makeup, but the queen’s face shone its natural shade, a lustrous blue-black. Her eyes, though, were ringed in gold, and there was a scarlet stripe down the center of her lips. She wore a beautiful gown that curved out from her in folds of midnight-blue, studded with gems that glittered like stars. And as Rey and Leia approached, the queen of Naboo stared, her expression impossible to read.

“General Organa.” The queen rested one hand on her chin. “I believe I requested you to come alone.”

“Rey is a trusted ally, Your Highness,” Leia said, striding into the center of the ring of chairs to address the entire congregation. Rey followed, forcing herself to keep her shoulders back. As much time as she spent with Leia, Rey still had little talent for the intricacies of diplomacy.

“I know your Jedi, Leia.” The queen’s eyes fell on Rey for a long moment, searching for something. What, Rey didn’t know. “The entire galaxy knows her. Just as they know what the First Order will do to find her. And yet you bring her here. Your war has not touched Naboo, general, but it seems you are determined to bring it onto our doorstep.”

“This is not my war, queen.” Leia folded her arms. “The First Order has acted with unprecedented aggression. The Supreme Leader seeks only to return the galaxy to the darkness of the Empire, and his forces will commit any atrocity to further that goal. The Hosnian system was only the beginning.”

“And what, pray tell, would you have me do about it?” The queen steepled her fingers, and Rey suddenly realized that the queen was tired. A deep, bone-tired, pulling on her like cords of durasteel. “These are not the days of Queen Soruna, general. Naboo is not a military state. We have no significant force, certainly none that could stand up to a Star Destroyer.”

“I’m not asking for a battle fleet, Your Highness,” Leia said. “You have supplies. Resources. The Resistance could make excellent use of food and medicine. Anything that would help us continue the fight. But more than that, the support of Naboo could be the first spark that will light the fire of hope in the galaxy. Queen Amidala understood—”

“Padmé Amidala was a failure,” the queen snapped. “She failed to see Palapatine for the serpent he was. She failed to prevent the Old Republic from slipping into open war, failed to curtail the Supreme Chancellor’s grabs at power, failed to prevent the rise of the Empire. She couldn’t even hold onto her life long enough to begin the fight for liberty. And now you ask me to follow her path?

“The days of the Rebellion are over, general. That spark is out of the universe. We have more to protect, now. We understand the nature of the First Order’s might. We will undermine them, one quiet inch at a time, through debate, through the slow, intricate beauty of discourse and rhetoric. Violence will beget only more violence. Your Jedi ought to understand that. They abandoned their peacekeeping in favor of war, and see where it brought them. Naboo will be the galaxy’s peacekeeper.”

“Roshara, you were not born under the Empire,” Leia said, her voice imploring. “The Supreme Leader will not tolerate dissent. Your protests will be smilingly ignored, a sign of naivety in the face of the dark side. We must act to prevent him—”

“You don’t call him by his name,” the queen mused. Her eyes, dark pools of onyx, glitter in the gentle light of Theed. “Is it difficult for you, general? To admit you failed?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Leia said, but Rey didn’t even need the Force to feel the wave of hurt that pulsed off the general.

“The Supreme Leader, as you call him. Kylo Ren. Or Ben Solo. You made this evil you now strive so earnestly to destroy. Did the violence of your past so taint your son that he has been driven to this?”

“Snoke twisted my son against me.”

“But if he had had no resentments, there would have been nothing for him to twist,” the queen said. She leaned back, then holding her head high. “I have reached my decision. The galaxy has already spoken. They have had enough of queens who leave their people to be senators and princesses who choose to play general. In this day and age, a queen must be a queen. She must protect her people, and be responsible to them and them only. I serve the people of Naboo, and I can’t, in good conscience, drag them into yet another war. I will not perpetuate the cycle of bloodshed. Naboo will take no action to aid the Resistance. You will leave this planet, and should you return, you will be treated as fugitives.”

“That’s ridiculous!” Rey’s voice rang out before she even realized she was planning on speaking. At once, she felt the eyes of the queen and the rest of the throned council, all on her. “What do you think, the First Order will just leave you alone? You can’t just wait the war out, while others suffer!”

“I will not be chided by a child who knows nothing of the nature of war,” the queen snapped.

“I’ve been fighting the First Order!” And suddenly Rey was shouting. There was heat in her ears as she shouted at the quiet, complacent queen. “I was there when Snoke died! Maybe you should consider that _you_ know nothing about this war!”

“Rey.” Leia’s voice cut through Rey’s anger and shivered into her bones. “Enough.”

There were few people who could cow Rey with a word. Leia Organa was at the top of that very short list. So she swallowed the stream of hot acid on her tongue, even though it sizzled in the bottom of her chest.

“Control your aide, general,” the queen sniffed. “I thought Jedi were supposed to be disciplined.”

“My apologies, Your Majesty. Rey is a passionate young woman. We will take our leave, now. I wish Naboo the best of luck. May she remain as unscarred and lovely as ever.”

“Some scars are internal, general.” The queen’s gaze was level—sunlight played over her skin, and at once she seemed a creature of ethereal, umber radiance. “You should know better than most that Naboo has not escaped unscathed.”

“Of course.” Leia inclined her head. “May the Force be with you, Roshara.”

The queen of Naboo watched them go in silence.

***

“So this entire mission was for nothing, then!” Rey paced the communal space of the _Gundark_. It wasn’t an easy path—the transport ship was crowded with boxes of equipment and the various other passengers, many of which had chosen to move out of her way some after learning the hard way that Rey didn’t really mind treading on a few unlucky toes. “We still have nothing!”

“Not true.” Leia is still, sitting in a seat with her hands clasped in her lap. “We have an answer, and now we are free to pursue other options.”

“What other options?” Rey seethes. “We don’t have an army. We’ve managed to scrounge together, what, a dozen ships, and the fuel for half of them? At this point, it’s just a matter of time, before—”

“They know!” Leia’s voice is just barely too sharp, a reminder that her temper is not limitless. “They know, Rey. But there is nothing to do but keep looking. Someone out there will join the fight. Someone must.”

“And if there isn’t?” Rey knew this line of questioning was dangerous. Questioning their cause here, in front of so many could lose them what scant numbers they still had. But, still, they deserved to know how desperate their situation was. “What is our plan, general?”

“We will trust in the Force,” Leia says, and her gaze makes it clear the words are final. “We will keep hope alive.”

“General?” An ensign bursts into the cabin, snapping to attention. “We’re receiving a transmission from the _Millennium Falcon_.”

“What?” Rey was through the door in an instant, and Leia was only a step behind.

Finn stands flickering and a few inches tall on the dashboard in the _Gundark’s_ cockpit. A bandage wrapped around his shoulder, and even in the blue wash of hologram, Rey could make out the slow bloom of crimson. Lieutenant Connix was speaking with him, her hair swept up into two blonde buns on the sides of her head.

“Finn!” Rey strode into the capture, so the hologram could pick her up. “What happened?”

“Oh! Nothing much,” Finn spluttered, looking down at his boots.

“Oh, yeah, not much other than he nearly got his head chopped off by a lunatic with a scythe.” Poe’s voice came from somewhere beyond the holo-cam’s range.”

“Excuse me?” Rey glared at Finn.

“What did you find?” Leia asked, coming to stand beside Rey.

“We found the temple, general.” Finn straightened automatically. Still, the old remnants of First Order conditioning lingered in his body language. It still made Rey twinge when she saw it.

“And the Knights of Ren.” Poe grumbled.

“Are you okay, Finn?” Rey folded her arms.

“I’m fine.” Finn smiled, but the tiredness in his frame was palpable. “They were looking for Anch-to, Rey. I don’t know why.”

“Ben must know Luke’s dead,” Rey said. “There’s nothing there for him on Anch-to.”

“Anch-to?” A new voice, one that chilled Rey to the core, comes from just beside her. She whirls on her heel and knocks into a broad shoulder, a familiar face. “Is that what it’s called?”

Ben Solo stood in the cockpit, staring down at her, and too late, Rey realized she could feel their connection, the trickle leak of a dam finally giving way. In the weeks since the Battle of Crait, the connection had not vanished. Instead it had grown simple—easier to open and access. She’d grown used to it, and that made it dangerous.

Ben was no longer dressed in the old, bulky robes of Kylo Ren. His new uniform was sleek, crimson. Its color highlighted the thin, pink line across his face. He mused, now, staring aside to something on his side of the connection. It was hot wherever he was—his face was streaked with sweat, and Rey could feel the ghost of the heat, a warmth that tickled her skin with its incongruity.

The Supreme Leader raised an eyebrow at her as she glared, her hand reaching futilely for the blaster at her side. “You know that won’t work, right?”

The connection had grown more powerful, strong enough that Rey could half-believe that a blaster shot might be able to reach across the Force to strike him if Ben would allow it. But the link was as much his as it was hers.

“It’s only a matter of time, now.” Ben shrugged. “I have the name, and the resources to find the planet. I will find the island.”

“There’s nothing left there.” Rey ignored the others’ confused looks. Leia turned, and her eyes moved to where her son stood in the Force.

“What?” Finn is not quite so savvy. “Rey?”

“There is the past. And the past is poisoning the galaxy.” Ben’s face softened; he slouched to one side. “You could still join me. If you hate the First Order so much, you could change it. Make it into something better.”

“As long as you get to kill anyone who gets in your way?” Rey folded her arms.

“This is a war. And unlike the Jedi, I am honest about my nature. The dark side is freedom.”

“You know better than that.” Rey snapped.

“Do I?” The bold flash of Ben’s eyes startled her. “We share a teacher, if you’ll recall. I trusted Luke, like you. It nearly got me killed. The light side is rigid and cruel. It will destroy what it cannot master. And I will not be controlled. Never again. Join me, and you need not be alone.”

“I’m not alone,” Rey hissed, and Ben took a step back.

“Not yet. Continue on this path, and it’s only a matter of time.” He reached into his pocket and tossed something small that glinted in lights Rey couldn’t see.

Rey reached out and caught it without thinking, and in that moment of confusion, the connection was broken and the Supreme Leader was gone.

“What was that?” Finn asked. “Was there something I’m not seeing.”

“Did he hear you?” Leia’s gaze was level, but her presence had shrunk in the Force. Drawing back from any trace her son had left in his wake.

“Yes.”

“Then the First Order is probably already on its way to the island.” Leia folded her hands, and a fresh tiredness burdened her shoulders.

“We can’t let them!” Rey’s thoughts flashed to the island’s inhabitants, the Lanai caretakers. “That island has innocents—the First Order will kill them to get what it wants.”

“We don’t have the resources to stop a full-scale First Order invasion,” Lieutenant Connix said, glancing up from a datapad.

“We have to help them. That’s what we’re here to do.” Rey looked around the cockpit, searching for an agreeable face, but she found only embarrassed avoidance.

“We can’t help them.” Leia sighed, extending a hand to rest on Rey’s shoulder. “We need to prioritize our own survival until we are strong enough to take a more complete stand.”

“How can we expect anyone to stand with us if we won’t stand with them?” Rey flinched away from the general’s touch. “Maybe you’re willing to judge some people as expendable, but I’m not. Finn, are you on your way back to the rendezvous?”

“Yeah.” Finn nodded warily. “We’re going to Anch-to, aren’t we?”

“What?” Poe’s voice came again, off-screen. “No, we’re not!”

“I’ll see you then.” Rey cut off the transmission before anything else could be said.

“This is a mistake.” Leia’s voice is soft, but it carries throughout the cockpit. “You will be disobeying direct orders and risking a significant component of the Resistance’s fleet.”

“And I’ll still be right.” Rey shrugged. “I’m not going to let those people die because it’s more convenient for me.”

“This isn’t about convenience, apprentice,” Leia breathed. “This is about survival. This is about living to fight for the galaxy that is to come.”

“If we abandon these people, I don’t know if we deserve to survive.” Rey stormed out of the room, listening to the door hiss to accommodate her. Anger swirled around her sharp and bright in the Force—she could still feel Ben pressing in at the edges of her awareness, a clouded, heavy presence. She let herself flare against him, let him sense her. Her fingers tightened around the object in her hand, the jagged, broken edge of a glinting blue crystal.

_You want me? Fine. Here I come._


	3. The Supreme Leader

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo Ren sets a new destination, with the reluctant help of his least loyal general.

“I thought you said that Skywalker was dead.” Hux had learned to temper his words in recent days. Less rabid—at least when he thought he was being watched. Despite that—Hux was not good at masking his emotions. His anger was like a badly smothered brushfire in the Force, still smoldering somewhere beneath the char. 

Hux was waiting at the ramp of the shuttle, looking profoundly uncomfortable in his stiff uniform. Sweat ran in heavy rivulets down his forehead and soaked into his collar. Mustafar didn’t seem to suit him.

Not that Ren could begrudge him that. Mustafar was a blasted wasteland of a place—why Vader would have chosen someplace like this for his palace he would never understand. Still, his grandfather’s presence still echoed throughout the facility—even here, on the landing pad. Long emptied, looted by his own son and whatever other scavengers had come to prey on the remains of the powerful.

No. Ben shook his head. _No more myths._ Vader failed—because he was Sith, just like Luke failed because he was Jedi. It was time to tear all of it down and build something new. First, though, to eradicate the remaining traces of the obsolete.

“He is, but the old man had plenty of secrets he kept for himself. Jedi texts, dark side relics—”

”And why is that important?” Hux blanches as soon as he says it, an impressive endeavor in the near scalding heat of the lava planet. “I mean—I don’t mean to question your authority, Supreme Leader—”

“Then don’t.” Ren took a step closer, just close enough to let the inches of height he had on the sniveling officer make an impact. Hux shrank back, and when he did Ren could still see the faint line of scar on his nose, the line of break from when Snoke hurled him to the ground. That had been barely a month ago, when the two of them had been on equal footing. 

An eternity ago, in other words. Another age. “Skywalker had one of Emperor Palpatine’s most treasured belongings—a holocron that will lead the First Order to the ancient Sith homeworld, Moraband. Do you know what that means?”

Hux shook his head mutely, and Ren turned back towards the ramp with a hiss of breath.

”It means that we can destroy the traces of the Jedi and the Sith, all at once. We can usher in a new era, without the past overshadowing us.”

”And what about the present, _my lord?_ ” Hux’s anger flared again, dark and curdled in the Force.“The Resistance is still out there, however feeble they might be. General Organa and her pet Jedi will find allies sooner or later if we don’t snuff them out now—”

Hux’s voice choked off into a hideous gurgle as Ren extended a fist of his intention and squeezed. He watched the general gasp and squirm for a long moment, considering. Perhaps it was time to be done with Hux, finally. Unbidden, though, Snoke’s voice swam in the back of his head: A rabid cur has its uses.

”Don’t question me again.” Kylo Ren was halfway up the shuttle’s ramp before he released his hold on Hux’s pale throat. “We will sweep any sparks of the old orders out of the universe and build a new empire on the dust that remains in their wake. Instruct our pilots to search all databases for a planet named Anch-to.”

Hux spat the next words through blue lips. “Yes, _Supreme Leader._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ren is kind of weird to write, if I'm being honest! I don't know, maybe I'll get a better sense of him the further I get into it. The next chapter will be back to Finn btw


	4. Sparks of the Resistance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew of the _Falcon_ returns to the Resistance, to find despondence. Poe confronts Rey about her mission to Anch-to, while Finn and Rose discover a potential new ally against the First Order, though it comes from an unlikely source.

#### Rey’s POV

Meditation had not come easily to Rey since Crait. Expansion into the Force invited too many perceptions—too much pain. Finn, a bright spot hurtling through the black, fierce in the face of darkness on the grandest scale. The suffering of billions subjugated under the rule of the First Order, which spread like a crimson stain through the galaxy. And always Ben—no, the Supreme Leader, she had to think of him as the Supreme Leader—probing at the edges of her consciousness, questing for anything that might allow him entry. Snoke had gloated that he had created the bond between the two of them, but his death had done nothing to weaken it. In fact, the connection had only gotten more intense. 

The crystals on her dresser thrummed against her presence in the force, a bright azure presence, but weak and fluttering, a bird’s heartbeat. Before, the core of Luke’s lightsaber had glowed in the Force, steady and strong. Another thing she hadn’t been able to save.

She felt the blazing points of light that heralded the crew of the _Millennium Falcon_ draw close, but she was attempting to practice patience. She waited until her comm chirped before she left her quarters.

The _Falcon_ looked as good as it ever did on scanners—a few more score marks in its battered hull, maybe. They didn’t have capital ships anymore, so it had to dock, instead of landing in a hangar. She wasn’t even sure they had enough fuel to resupply the vessel. By the time she reached the airlock, Finn, Poe, and Rose were already stepping through onto the deck of the Gundark.

”Rey!” Finn grinned at her, though his face was wan. His shoulder was bandaged—he raised a hand to wave and winced.

”You alright?” Rey smiled, hoping the expression came across warmer than she felt. “I didn’t think anyone would be guarding the Praxeum, I’m sorry.”

”I thought Jedi were supposed to sense danger.” Poe’s gaze was hard and tired. He didn’t smile at Rey. Poe had been good-natured when they’d first met, but that friendliness had quickly died over the next few weeks. Not that she could blame him. There was increasingly little to smile about. “Finn, careful with that arm. You’re going to misalign that bacta pack, and we can’t spare them.”

“Any good news from Naboo?” Rose asked, eyes hopeful.

”No. We’re still on our own, for now.” Rey looked towards Finn, so she wouldn’t have to see Rose’s face fall. “How long until the _Falcon_ has enough fuel for a trip to Anch-to?”

”About an hour.” He shrugged. “You’re sure about this? The general’s not going to be happy.”

”There are still people on that island. I’m not leaving them to die.” Rey folded her arms. “We’ll leave as soon as possible.”

”Master Jedi, can I speak to you for a moment?” She didn’t much enjoy being called a Jedi. People rarely seemed to say it with good intent. The way Poe said it, it was as much a reminder of her failures as a term spoken with respect.

”I’ll check in with the general, see who else we can contact. Finn, why don’t you come help?”

”Why would I be able to help?” Finn’s face was blank, but Rose looped a hand through the crook of his uninjured arm, gently tugging him away.

”Come on,” she said, shooting Poe a significant look. She glanced at Rey, too, but her gaze was a little sharper.

Once the two of them were out of earshot, Rey folded her arms, bracing herself. “Did you need something, commander?”

“Yeah. Don’t ask him to go with you.” Poe’s eyes reminded Rey of a dogfight—all fire and movement, a perilous momentum.

“What?”

“You heard me. Don’t ask Finn to go with you.” Poe rested his hands on his belt, and Rey was surprised to see a spark of hostility in his gaze.

“I don’t think I’m the person you should be talking to about Finn going to Anch-to.” Rey frowned, folding her arms.

“Don’t give me that. I’m talking to you, because we both know that if you ask Finn to do something, he’ll kill himself trying to do it. He nearly died pulling you out of Starkiller, then again trying to protect you from the First Order, and _again_ hunting down secrets on Bogano, and I’m sick of watching it!”

”I’m not responsible for Finn’s actions” Rey asked. “And if you’re so worried, why don’t you just come along?”

”Because no one should be going!” Poe snapped, waving a hand at the airlock. “We don’t have the ships or the manpower to spare, and we already know we’ll be flying right into Kylo Ren’s fleet! You’re going to get Finn killed, the _Falcon_ destroyed, and you won’t be able to help anyone!”

“And whose fault is it, exactly, that we don’t have our fleet anymore?” Rey stepped forward, so she could bring her face inches from Poe’s. He flinched, and a fierce satisfaction uncoiled inside her chest. “If it weren’t for you, we’d still have a bombing fleet, Admiral Holdo, the Crait base. Are you really going to lecture me on making reckless decisions, Poe?”

She expected anger. A fight. Instead, hurt, sharp and jagged, rippled through the Force. Poe glared, but it was just pain behind it, pain and a feeling that made her stomach ache, petal-soft and syrup sweet. She had kicked a wall, expecting duracrete, and found painted flimsiplast instead.

“You want to keep playing therapist to the man who helped murder billions, that’s your prerogative. Just don’t drag Finn into it with you. He deserves better than that.” Before she could say anything, make any attempt to mend her blunder, Poe stomped past her, towards the cockpit. She watched his back until he turned a corner.

***

#### Finn’s POV

”What do you think that was about?” Finn craned his neck, trying to get another glimpse at Rey and Poe as Rose tugged him along.

”A conversation I’m sure they need to have—we don’t need to be prying.” Rose said.

Finn still looked back, one last time. There was a comforting hum to Rey’s presence—just being near her helped stifle the fear that roiled inside him. As he walked away, the memory of that white, crackling fear that had followed Vicrul returned.

”Rose, Finn.” General Organa didn’t smile at the two of them as they entered the _Gundark’s_ cockpit, but there was warmth enough in her eyes that she didn’t feel unfriendly. “It’s good that you’re back safe. Any luck on Bogano?”

”Plenty. All of it bad.” Rose shrugged. “We’re all alive—that’s what counts. Chewie’s refueling the _Falcon_ now.”

”Good.” Leia’s eyes locked onto Finn with a message he couldn’t discern. Warning, maybe? “We’re considering where to chart a course next. Naboo is an impossibility. Coruscant has already been blockaded, as have Chandrila and Ryloth. We are swiftly running out of options.”

”There has to be somewhere that’s still in the fight,” Rose said. “It can’t just be—”

Her voice trailed off, but everyone glanced at their boots for a moment. Maybe there were still Resistance cells out there, but it certainly didn’t feel like it.

”General?” A dispatcher, a young, brown-skinned woman with hair cropped short turned from her console. “We’re receiving an encrypted transmission. It looks to be First Order.”

”How did they find us?” Leia’s eyes went wide.

”I don’t think they did, ma’am. The signal was transmitted through a public HoloNet transceiver, bounced all over the galaxy. It may not even be for us. I can’t decrypt it.”

”Let me see.” At a nod from the general, Finn crouched down at the comms terminal. He recognized the transmission sequence, which was strange, in and of itself, he explained. The First Order had updated its encryption half a dozen times since Jakku.

”Can you decrypt it?” Rose asked.

”If my code cylinder still works. Which it definitely shouldn’t.” Still, he typed in the well-memorized series of digits into the console. Instantly, the indecipherable static dissolved into a clear voice.

”—Ensign Ashla has released a mother nexu and her cubs into the northeastern sector. Recommending immediate reprogramming at the lower lower upper lower facility, three six seven days from next week. I repeat, this is FN-Atavist, reporting that Ensign Ashla has released a mother nexu and her cubs—“

”That doesn’t make any sense,” Rose said.

But Finn’s entire body had gone stiff. “It’s a code.”

”They can’t expect us to fall for such an obvious trap!” Lieutenant Connix said, from her terminal, blonde hair in a braid atop her head. “They have to know we’d realize they were using obsolete codes for a reason.”

”No, it’s not a First Order code. Not an official one, at least.” It had been a long time since Finn had had to translate this particular cipher. He’d thought he’d never get the chance to do so ever again. “This is a cadet code. We made it up so we could talk without the SOs understanding, taught it to everyone who got conscripted. This is from a First Order cadet in the flight academy on Corellia. They want to defect.” Finn turned to the others, so they could see the grin that split his face. “And they say there’s a whole lot more cadets who want the same.”

”That can’t be possible!” One of the officers spluttered. “The conditioning the First Order puts those children through—”

”—Is flawed.” Leia nodded at Finn. “We’ve seen that. If there is one, it stands to reason that there are others. And if this is a flight academy, they’ll have ships. The fighters and transports we so badly need.”

”Corellia is under First Order control,” Finn said, glancing to Rose. “We can’t take everyone, but a small team might be able to get to the academy. There’s a location and time here. We have a window to meet with Atavist—we need to send someone now.”

“Send someone where?” The door hissed open as Poe stomped inside. Hs face was neutral, focused, but Finn instantly felt something was wrong. Poe seemed prickly, the way he had seemed on Crait, hackles raised and shame fresh. Finn had a glancing urge to run a hand through Poe’s hair, to smooth the metaphorical spines flat, but he filed that away for later consideration.

”Finn decrypted a secret First Order transmission. The Corellian Flight Academy has some defectors,” Rose said, her eyes glinting. “They’re trying to schedule a meeting.”

“Really?” Poe’s eyes flew to Finn’s and before he knew it, Finn had been wrapped in a hug that swept him off his feet and into a huge circle. He blinked dizzily. Touch had been such a complicated thing in the First Order, all risk and calculation. He was still adjusting to how easily and effectively Poe could put it to use. “That’s fantastic! When do we go?” Then he winced, turning towards Leia. “I mean, if you think this mission is a good idea, general.”

”I do, commander.” Leia cocked her one head to the side, bemused. “And I take that exclamation to mean that you volunteer?”

”Of course!” Poe glanced at Rose, who grinned back. “You in?” When she nodded, he clapped hands with her, though she had to jump to make up for the height difference. Then Poe turned to Finn again. “I’m gonna need your help on this too, buddy.”

Finn couldn’t muster a smile back. The enthusiasm had suddenly wilted. “I can’t.”

Poe’s frown returned. “What do you mean, you can’t? This is the perfect mission for you!”

“The window for the meeting.” Finn gestured at the terminal. “It’s tomorrow. I’m leaving with Rey on the _Falcon_.”

“That’s a suicide mission! And this could save the Resistance.” Poe took Finn by the shoulders, imploring.

Finn couldn’t meet his gaze. “I told her I would help her.” _And being by her quiets all the cowardly, horrible voices in my head._

”It was unfair of her to ask.” Poe’s eyes hardened, and that sharp raggedness at the edges of him returned. He let go. “I’m asking you to stay. Come with us to Corellia. Please.”

Finn took a step back, out of Poe’s grasp. “I need to help Rey.”

”I don’t _care_ about—!” Poe’s voice hurtled out of him, but he cut himself short, drawing himself up straight. When Poe was serious, when he held himself tall and stiff, he felt so much like Leia, kind, but furious. Fierce. Finn had spent his whole life around soldiers, but Poe Dameron was the first _warrior_ he had ever met. “Fine. Go, if you want. I’ll finish the mission without you. Just don’t get yourself killed over this, okay? Rose, let’s get started.”

She nodded, but didn’t move as Poe stormed out of the cockpit, leaving silence in his wake. Instead, she turned to Finn, and took his hand between her own. “It’ll be alright,” she murmured. “He’s protective of the things he cares about. That’s all it is.”

”I care about the Resistance, too! It’s just not the only thing I care about!” He said, turning to glare at the console, as if the message might reveal any new information.

Rose made a small sound, as though she wanted to say something, but caught herself early. “Stupid,” she said, finally, and left the room.

Finn turned to Leia. “This counts as a mutiny, doesn’t it?”

”Yes.” Leia sighed, and a flicker of irritation crossed her face. “Though I cannot say I blame you. May the Force be with you.”

Finn nodded, but looked down at his hands. That was exactly what he was beginning to worry about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said this chapter was going to be Finn's POV, but it turned out to be Finn and Rey! Go figure, I guess! I really wish that they had explored the story of the First Order's stormtroopers more thoroughly in the movie. I really liked Jannah as a character (though I hated the way she was used as a heterosexual shield for Finn) and the brainwashed soldiers are a feature of the sequel trilogy I look forward to exploring more! Now I just have to figure out if I'd rather follow Finn and Rey to Anch-to or Rose and Poe to Corellia.


	5. Goodbyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tensions run hot as Finn readies the Falcon to leave for Anch-to--tempers and passions flaring up as Rey prepares to leave the Resistance.

Finn was running pre-flight checks on the _Falcon_. Calibrating the stabilizers, venting coaxium processors, the basic things. Rey was still in the back, repairing some of the auxiliary systems, which she could work on mid-flight, so the responsibility fell to him, and he was doing it dutifully. This was the third time he’d run them, and each one came back clear every single time, but the fact remained that he was still running them, and he didn’t quite understand why he hadn’t taken off until the reasons appeared in his viewport, entering the hangar.

Poe looked determined, angry, more than a little hurt, with a bundle tucked under one arm. It reminded Finn of the first time he’d met Poe, still bloodied from Kylo Ren’s ministrations, fierce and ready to scrap. At the time, he’d wondered, simply, “Is this what all Resistance fighters are like?” He hadn’t gotten the answer until later. Poe was in a class all his own.

And Rose, beside him, staring up at the _Falcon_ with something between curiosity and pity. Rose was one of the few people Finn had met, himself included, who had recognized the potential of the ship from the first time she saw her, just as much as she saw all the stress that she had suffered. Rose saw things simply like that. The strengths hidden beneath scars, and the things that could be fixed.

Finn was on his way to the boarding ramp to greet them when he heard BB-8 chirp something from one of the maintenance corridors. He had yet to decipher anything that the droid said, though he couldn’t admit to really trying. Rey, though, poked her head out from the corridor a moment later.

”BB-8 says Poe and Rose are here?” She asked, her voice light. Finn nodded, and she sighed and strode past him, towards the ramp. He followed.

As they came down the ramp, Finn watched Poe’s expression harden. He didn’t meet Finn’s gaze, instead focusing directly on Rey. “I came to get BB-8.”

”And to wish the two of you luck on your journey,” Rose said, softly nudging Poe.

”I need BB-8.” Rey folded her arms. “We don’t know what we’re walking into. I might need a droid.”

”No, you don’t know what you’re walking into, so you shouldn’t go.” Poe slouched onto one leg, resting a hand on his hip. “I have an actual Resistance mission, which requires that I make use of _my_ droid. BB-8, come here.”

The orange droid rolled forward, but Rey snapped before he made it more than a meter, “BB-8, stay here.”

BB-8 stopped, head oscillating between Poe and Rey and beeping confusedly.

”Here, little guy,” Poe said.

”No, here!” Rey stomped a foot, and BB-8 gave another, frantic look, before quickly rolling behind Poe’s legs, peering out at the rest of them and crooning. “Fine.” Rey threw her hands into the air and tramped back up the ramp without another word. Finn stared after her, then back down at Poe and Rose.

”We’ll be okay—the _Falcon’s_ the fastest ship in the galaxy, remember?”

__

”I hate that you’re doing this.” Poe’s voice was stiff, as he closed the distance, up the ramp. “You know that? We need you on Corellia.”

__

”She’ll go on her own, and then she’d be in even more trouble.” Finn glanced back into the _Falcon_.

__

”Then let her.” Poe’s voice shook, and without warning he had taken hold of Finn’s arm, the grip was tight, and a not-insignificant chunk of Finn’s brain went into logging it into ‘Touches Whose Meaning Would be Pondered Later.’ “You’re not responsible for her, Finn. She doesn’t need you to protect her from her own choices.”

__

”We save what we love, Poe? Right, Rose?” He looked to her for help, but Rose had folded her arms, not budging from where she stood.

__

”You’re not the only one trying to do that right now,” she said. “If you leave now, you won’t get the rendezvous coordinates for when the fleet moves. Leia’s orders. You won’t be able to find your way back to us.”

__

”Well, you and Poe can just send them, then,” Finn protested.

__

”No, we can’t.” Poe took a step closer, imploring, and Finn could smell Poe, the twin scents of the regulation soap in the fresher and the ever-dwindling supply of hair gel he kept in his quarters. “I can’t risk that message getting intercepted by the First Order. Not after—”

__

Poe’s voice faltered, but Finn knew what he meant already. Poe didn’t like talking about Crait. Leia had given him his position back in the weeks since then—there just weren’t enough high-ranking officers to leave vacancies anymore—but the deaths still had taken their toll. It had been Poe’s transmission that had given DJ the Resistance’s plan, that had led the First Order to Crait. There were those around the ship that still called Poe a traitor, and he was bad at hiding how much it hurt.

__

”The beacon!” Finn spluttered. “Leia still has that beacon, we can use that to find you—”

__

”This is an unsanctioned mission, Finn. One with a high probability of failure. If you get captured, that beacon leads right to us. I--“ Poe’s voice caught, but his eyes were steady. “I have to ask for it back.”

__

”Poe—!”

__

”Take it.” Finn flinched as something flew past his ear, quick enough that he only caught the glimmer of blue light. Rey slouched against the bulkhead of the Falcon, glaring. “We won’t need it. Once the Caretakers are safe, we’ll find our own way back.”

__

”How, Rey? And if you say the Force, I swear I’ll scream,” Poe folded his arms. “We’re not setting up rendezvous points. Leia’s not telling anyone where we’re headed next.”

__

”Then we’ll start off on our own. Right, Finn?”

__

Finn looked between the two of them. Rey was bright with something that called to him, with some sense he was too afraid to name. Poe though, was warm, in every way that Finn had ever wanted.

__

”Finn?” Poe’s eyes met his, and Finn knew something true. That he would put everything he had between hurt and those eyes. He reached forward and caught Poe’s chin in his hands, drew him forward.

__

Poe did almost everything quickly—talking, flying—but he kissed slow. His lips were chapped and Finn could only think, _so this is what this is_ , for a long, perfect instant. Poe’s hands settled on his hips and pulled him closer and for a moment it was frantic—sweet, yes, but desperate. A first kiss that was almost certainly the last.

__

They broke away, but Finn pressed his forehead to Poe’s. “I’ll find my way back,” he whispered.

__

”I wish I believed you.” Poe sighed, and held out the bundle he was carrying. “Here. I patched it after Starkiller.”

__

Finn looked down and saw it for the first time. The brown jacket with the red patch over the shoulder. He took it gently, unfolded it to see the back, where Kylo Ren had slashed it—and him—open. Now, the tear was sealed with bright orange.

__

”I had an old flightsuit hanging around.” Poe rubbed his neck, looking anywhere but Finn’s eyes. “And it always suited you more than me, anyway. Take it.”

__

Finn, afraid of putting together any more words, because how could he not ruin whatever had just happened by speaking, slipped the jacket on over his shoulders. The first time he had put on this jacket, it had smelled like acrid smoke and blood—now it smelled like home. He nodded at Poe.

__

”May the Force be with you.” Poe turned and strode away from the _Falcon_ before Finn could reply. Rose stepped forward instead, wrapping her arms around Finn’s shoulders. She squeezed tightly, like she was putting all her strength into it.

__

”Don’t get yourself killed, please.” She smiled, but her eyes sparkled a little too brightly. “We’ve all lost enough already. And tell Rey about your thing.” She waggled her fingers in the air, faux-mystically.

__

Finn winced. “I don’t really think this is the time—”

__

”It’s never going to seem like the right time,” Rose said. “But she can help—you know she can.”

__

”Yeah. Thanks, Rose.”

__

”Of course. I’ll see you soon. Don’t keep us waiting.” She smiled, and stepped off the ramp. Her smile was the last thing Finn saw as the ramp to the _Falcon_ shut.

__

”Thank you for coming,” Rey said, resting a hand on Finn’s shoulder.

__

”I just hope we aren’t making a mistake.”

__

”We aren’t. We’ll fly to Anch-to, pick up the Caretakers, and jump away.”

__

”And if the First Order’s already there? If _he’s_ there?”

__

Rey’s face hardened. That face scared Finn more than it had back on Jakku. He wasn’t sure a Jedi was supposed to make that face. ”Then I’ll handle it.

__

”Right.” Finn turned to the cockpit. “Let’s just get there fast.”

__


End file.
